Buyout firm HarbourVest to open in Dublin to lessen Brexit impact

Dasha Afanasieva

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LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Private equity firm HarbourVest said on Wednesday it will open a Dublin office to help minimise any disruption to its clients and funds from Britain leaving the European Union (EU) next year.

HarbourVest, which has $50 billion in assets under management and more than 400 employees, is not planning to reduce the size of its London office but will have fund managers in Dublin, its managing director John Toomey said.

Many firms without regulated EU operations outside Britain are working on the assumption of a "hard Brexit", where they will no longer be able to sell their services across the EU without an operation regulated by an EU member country.

Disagreement over what to do about the Irish border after Britain leaves the EU has stalled a Brexit deal in recent weeks.

Some investment management firms with a base in Britain are opening offices on the continent as part of plans to ensure they can sell to EU clients after Britain exits the bloc.

HarbourVest said it will open the Dublin office once it has Irish AIFM (Alternative Investment Fund Managers) authorisation.

Blackstone is among a number of financial services companies to have chosen Luxembourg as the site for a European Union subsidiary while several hedge funds, including Winton, have opted for Dublin. (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva Editing by Alexander Smith)